PRESS RELEASES

Treasury Issues Additional General Licenses and Guidance in Support of Humanitarian Assistance and Other Support to Afghanistan

December 22, 2021

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued three General Licenses to facilitate the continued flow of humanitarian assistance and other support for the Afghan people. These actions underscore the United States’ commitment to support the people of Afghanistan and continue the U.S. government’s longstanding practice of authorizing the provision of humanitarian goods and services to areas affected by U.S. sanctions. Treasury’s OFAC also issued a Fact Sheet that highlights and consolidates all the relevant authorizations and guidance facilitating the flow of humanitarian assistance, personal remittances, and other support to the Afghan people.

“The United States is the largest single provider of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. We are committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan, which is why Treasury is taking these additional steps to facilitate assistance,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Unfortunately, the economy faces grave challenges, exacerbated by the country’s long dependence on foreign aid, donor and private sector flight sparked by the Taliban’s takeover, drought, structural macroeconomic issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury has provided broad authorizations that ensure NGOs, international organizations, and the U.S. government can continue to provide relief to those in need.”

As part of Treasury’s commitment to enabling humanitarian assistance and other support to Afghanistan, OFAC issued the following General Licenses that expand upon existing authorizations related to the provision of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs and enable broader support for the Afghan people:

General License 17 authorizes all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network that are for the conduct of the official business of the United States Government by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof, subject to certain conditions.

General License 18 authorizes all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network that are for the conduct of the official business of certain international organizations and other international entities by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof, subject to certain conditions.

General License 19 authorizes all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network, that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the following activities by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), subject to certain conditions: humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs; activities to support rule of law, citizen participation, government accountability and transparency, human rights and fundamental freedoms, access to information, and civil society development projects; education; non-commercial development projects directly benefitting the Afghan people; and environmental and natural resource protection.

There are no OFAC-administered sanctions that generally prohibit the export or reexport of goods or services to Afghanistan, moving or sending money into and out of Afghanistan, or activities in Afghanistan, provided that such transactions or activities do not involve sanctioned individuals, entities, or property in which sanctioned individuals and entities have an interest. In all cases, authorized transactions and activities must comply with the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable General License. Notably, the General Licenses listed above explicitly do not authorize financial transfers to the Taliban or the Haqqani Network, other than for the purpose of effecting the payment of taxes, fees, or import duties, or the purchase or receipt of permits, licenses, or public utility services related to the activities specified. For more information, please see GLs 17, 18, and 19.

These GLs also help implement adopted resolution UNSCR 2615 (2021), which authorizes humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs as those terms are understood by the United Nations Security Council, as well as the processing and payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources, and the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of such assistance or to support such activities.

This Resolution, drafted by the United States and unanimously adopted today by the 15 members of the UN Security Council, establishes a carveout in the UN 1988 sanctions regime to ensure urgently needed aid can reach the Afghan people. Specifically, UNSCR 2615 (2021) was intended to cover activities contemplated in the United Nations’ Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) for Afghanistan, such as providing life-saving assistance; sustaining essential services; and preserving social investments and community-level systems essential to meeting basic human needs. The Resolution also requests periodic updates by the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to ensure assistance is reaching the intended beneficiaries, not being diverted to the Taliban.

Concurrent with these actions, OFAC updated three Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and issued six new FAQs. These FAQs provide clarity on the scope of GLs and address some of the questions that OFAC has received regarding its sanctions on the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. For more information, please see FAQs 928, 929, 931, 950, 951, 952, 953, 954, and 955.

OFAC also issued a humanitarian Fact Sheet, “Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan and Support for the Afghan People,” providing an overview of the abovementioned authorizations and guidance, along with other relevant authorizations and FAQs.

For transactions not otherwise authorized or exempt, OFAC considers license requests on a case-by-case basis and prioritizes applications, compliance questions, and other requests related to humanitarian activity. For more information regarding the scope of any sanctions program’s requirements or the applicability or scope of any humanitarian-related authorizations, please contact OFAC’s Sanction Compliance and Evaluation Division at (800) 540-6322 or (202) 622-2490, or by email at [email protected].

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Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Senior Advisor for Special Political Affairs
New York, New York
December 22, 2021

AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Mr. President.

The Security Council has a critical role to play in helping to address the suffering of the Afghan people and provide reassurance to UN and NGO implementers who are working hard to tackle the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

An estimated 24 million vulnerable Afghans are facing increasing food insecurity, particularly with the onset of winter. This is unfortunately not a new situation for the people of Afghanistan, but their suffering is even more acute this year and the humanitarian community believes that they will require ongoing assistance.

The United States appreciates the dialogue with Member States, OCHA, UNICEF, the ICRC, and a wide range of other aid organizations on the importance of and challenges associated with delivering critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan since August 15, 2021. This is a dialogue we hope continues.

We fully understand that some donors, aid organizations, and financial institutions are still hesitant to deliver humanitarian assistance and undertake other activities to meet basic human needs in Afghanistan due to the risks associated with providing direct or indirect benefits to UN listed individuals who now control certain ministries. They have rightly assessed that the provision of such assistance could run afoul of UN sanctions against members of the Taliban and associated persons and entities.

Through this resolution we have proposed today, the Security Council can decide to exempt humanitarian assistance to enable more life-saving aid and other activities to meet basic human needs of the people of Afghanistan.

Specifically, this resolution provides an exemption from the UN Security Council assets freeze against listed members of the Taliban and associated entities solely for the provision of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan, which the Council will review in one year.

We should be clear: this humanitarian exception is to facilitate aid to the people of Afghanistan, but it is not a blank check for any organization to disregard its international obligations.

Because of the uncertainty in Afghanistan, this resolution also requests the Emergency Relief Coordinator to periodically brief the Security Council on the delivery of such assistance, including any obstacles.

Specifically, the text requests the ERC to brief on humanitarian assistance-related payments to designated parties, any diversion of funds by the same, and any other obstacles to the provision of this critically important assistance. This will be critically important as this Council continuously assesses whether modifications are necessary, including when the Security Council reviews the resolution next December.

We hope everyone on this Council will support this resolution, and through it, the people of Afghanistan. We have done our best to take into account the varying views expressed by members of the Security Council during the course of negotiations. We are confident this resolution will enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance and other assistance to meet basic human needs in Afghanistan, where sanctions remain a critical component of the international community’s efforts to address the ongoing challenges to security and stability.

We ask that you vote to support it.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Security Council Distr.: General

22 December 2021

Resolution 2615 (2021)

Adopted by the Security Council at its 8941st meeting, on 22 December 2021

The Security Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions on Afghanistan,

Stressing the important role that the United Nations will continue to play in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Afghanistan, as well as its continued support for the people of Afghanistan,

Expressing deep concern regarding the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, including food insecurity, and recalling that women, children, and minorities have been disproportionately affected,

Expressing appreciation for the strengthened efforts of the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan since 15 August 2021, calling upon the United Nations to take an active role in coordinating such assistance going forward, and noting the intention of this resolution is to provide clarity to ensure the continued provision of assistance in the future,

Recalling the expectations that the Taliban will adhere to the commitments made, including with regards to humanitarian access, safe passage, counter-terrorism, security, human rights, and counter-narcotics,

Reaffirming the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan, including those individuals and groups designated by the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015), and ensuring the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any country, to plan or finance terrorist acts, or to shelter and train terrorists, and that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any country,

Determining that the situation in Afghanistan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Decides that humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan are not a violation of paragraph 1 (a) of resolution 2255 (2015), and that the processing and payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources, and the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of such assistance or to support such activities are permitted, strongly encourages providers relying on this paragraph to use reasonable efforts to minimize the accrual of any benefits, whether as a result of direct provision or diversion, to individuals or entities designated on the 1988 Sanctions List, and further decides to review the implementation of this provision after a period of one year;

2. Requests the Emergency Relief Coordinator to brief the Security Council every six months from the adoption of this resolution based on the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan including on any available information regarding payments of funds to, or for the benefit of, designated individuals or entities, any diversion of funds by the same, risk management and due diligence processes in place, and any obstacles to the provision of such assistance, and further requests relevant providers to assist the Emergency Relief Coordinator in the preparation of such briefings by providing information relevant to paragraph 1 above within 60 days of any such provision;

3. Calls on all parties in all circumstances to respect the human rights of all individuals, including women, children, and persons belonging to minorities, and comply with their applicable obligations under international humanitarian law, including those related to the protection of civilians, including humanitarian personnel, and those related to the protection of medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, and demands all parties allow full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access for the personnel of United Nations humanitarian agencies and other humanitarian actors regardless of gender; and

4. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.